Legend of Zelda: The Greatest Adventure
by Ian Reid
Summary: The greatest adventure is what lies ahead, today and tomorrow, are yet to be said...Follow an epic tale of romance, action, magic, beautiful lands and horrible beings as a boy realizes his destiny to save the world...
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

Legend of Zelda:  
The Greatest Adventure  
By  
Ian Gainsborough

Author's Note: After many sudden inspirations in the middle of my job, I have come up with a new brilliant story that will, indeed, be the Greatest Adventure.

Prologue

Back before all was, before time began, before spirits existed, there was nothing. Then came the Great Goddesses; Din, Goddess of Power; Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom; Farore, Goddess of Courage.

They brought together the things to make the world, as they always have done. Din, with her great fiery arms, raised the mountains high, carved the ravines deep, and cultivated and tilled the soil and turned the earth red. Nayru, with her infinite wisdom, gave the Light and Spirit of Law to the world. Farore, with her rich and beautiful soul, planted the seeds of the first Beings to stride the world, to have the courage to explore, and uphold the Spirit and the Light.

But where there was Light, there was Darkness to match it. For with Light and Law, came Darkness and Chaos. The great Chaos that was born cast unto it its own spell, for it was of thoughts and designs of its own. And the Darkness lay dormant for very long.

Once the Goddesses had completed their labors and finished their work, they returned again to the heavens; but not before leaving the Mark upon the world that which they had made. At their ascension again to the Heavens, they left in their trails, three golden triangles. Where they had been left, when it touched the ground, the land around it became sacred, and known as the Sacred Realm. And forevermore, the Triforce lay.

One had once sought it out, and once they found, could write the cryptic rhyme that was learned by children and scholars alike:

_In the Realm beyond sight,  
__Where the sky shines gold, not blue  
__There the Triforce's might  
__Makes mortal dreams come true._

And forevermore, the Triforce was sought.

Chapter 1

The Kokiri were the Children of the Forest, as it couldn't be put any other way. They were known by many names: Forest Children, Seeds of the Tree-People, and Leaves of the Great Tree among others. But they liked to be known as Kokiri, simply. They traversed the forest freely, fearing only the Lost Woods that was forbidden to them by their Elder, the Deku Tree. The Southeast of Hyrule bore the Kokiri Forest, and they thrived and lived happily. They were oblivious, only children they acted, even when full-grown, to the outside world, from which they were protected by the Deku Tree's magic seal. It protected them of intruders who sought their whereabouts.

"You'll never catch me!" taunted a young spry boy, looking over his shoulder at the girl in pursuit in the branches of the forest. The girl behind him was smiling, with hair green as the leaves, bounced careless about her shoulders. She trod a branch skillfully, pushing off of it to gain a burst of speed after her friend.

"How much would you like to bet, Mido?" the girl called after the boy. She soared on the breeze that pierced the thick canopy, preparing to jump off another branch. But a sound caught her long pointed ears—a feature, mind you, distinguishing in most of the races of Hyrule—and they swiveled towards the sound.

Saria missed a branch, landing into it with her stomach, and tumbled to the ground where the sound she heard grew louder. Groaning and holding her sore stomach, Saria sat up. Not but a few yards away, swaddled in a green cloth, was a small creature, that wailed relentlessly. Beside it, lay a motionless creature, wearing light blue clothes of sorts unfamiliar to Saria. Behind her, Mido landed, and looked curiously at what Saria was inspecting.

"What is it, Saria?" Mido asked, poking his head over her shoulder.  
"I," she paused, unsure of her words at first, "I think it's a baby."  
Mido scoffed. "A baby!" he said, "All things grow from the seeds of trees, as Deku Tree always told us! We were never babies! We were seedlings! So is everything outside the Forest!" The baby continued to wail loudly for the motionless body beside him. Saria looked over to the fallen figure, brushing away the strands of golden-blonde hair. She was beautiful, even if she was motionless. Saria realized then, this woman was dead. She gasped in shock, and turned away from the sight, the baby continuing to cry. The woman's blue robe was stained with blood, their source a stab wound to her side and two arrows in her back. Saria whimpered, the sight unbearable even for her eyes. This was…death, then. She willed herself to look again, towards the baby, and scooped him into her arms. She cradled him, rocking him to sleep. He silenced, and Saria looked up at Mido.

"What do you plan to do with a baby?" Mido asked. Saria stood, staring for a moment at the dead woman, then the baby, then back.

Glittering against the emerald glow of the forest canopy, a locket was clenched by the chain in the woman's hand. Saria bent down and pried the locket from the woman's cold grip, and opened it gently. On one half, it read LINK in carefully carved letters, on the other half two names were engraved just as articulately to the point the letters couldn't be recognized. Saria dropped the locket down into her left boot to keep it safely, and sprung towards a branch with a confused Mido still on the ground.

"Where are you going?" he called after her. But she was too far away to hear, and he pursued groaning to himself.  
"Where you going?" Mido repeated, matching Saria as they leapt from tree to tree. Saria stared ahead, clutching the baby close to her to keep him safe.  
"I'm taking him to the Great Deku Tree," she said. It was an answer Mido didn't anticipate, and the seriousness in her voice had landed Mido face-first into a tree. Mido caught up quickly, swearing to himself as he rubbed his nose.  
"Are you insane, Saria?" he exclaimed. "I think you've been hanging out with Skull Kids a little too long! The Deku Tree wouldn't allow a…baby," he sputtered at that last word, " to be raised as a Kokiri! He won't have it!"  
"Would you rather let it die in the forest alone?" asked Saria sharply, "He needs our help and I can think of nothing to do for him."  
Mido groaned loudly. "You are rightly insane," he said. "All right, but don't come crying to me when the Deku Tree decides it should be left outside the forest."

Saria and Mido came to the Kokiri Village, nestled peacefully in the midst of a forest clearing. About, Kokiri hustled and bustled, going this way and that, talking and laughing and the nearby tavern that served the finest Birch Ale and Beech Beer this side of the Hylian River was lively. Saria kept the bundle close to her body, looking about at familiar faces of Kokiri, all of which garbed in green or naked and slathered with mud. Mido grimaced at Tido, who was busy with a test of strength against an elder Kokiri. Sitting outside their tree-stump house, the Elder Reso practiced Forest Magic for youngsters, all of which clapping and cheering gleefully as butterflies and fairies appeared from wisps of green smoke emanating from her fingertips.

Straight through the village, Saria and Mido stood before the path, high ridges that connected the valley of the Kokiri village and the valley of the Deku Tree. Saria set a foot forward to proceed.

"Halt!" a voice shouted sharply, a long lithe pole of fine Deku wood struck the ground and stopped Saria from another step. Jumping from the ridge, a boy of black hair and ornate markings painted upon his face rose to face Saria and Mido.  
"Hello, Tire," said Mido flatly. Tire flashed his green eyes from Mido to Saria.  
"What business do you have with Deku Tree?" he asked, pulling his Deku stick lance from the ground.  
"Nothing that concerns you, Tire," said Mido. "Let us pass."  
"The Deku Tree will not be seen unless it's important business," said Tire sternly.  
"But this is important, Tire," said Saria, holding the baby to her chest. "I can't give you details, but tell the Deku Tree I must speak with him" Tire watched Saria carefully, turned on his heel, and went through the path. Minutes passed by, before Tire emerged again, motioned for Saria to pass. Mido was stopped after a few steps, leaving Saria to venture the winding path alone.

Sunlight shone down on the wide spacious clearing, the forest floor dipping slowly downward towards a large tree. Around this tree, there were others that were not as beautiful or as ancient. It towered high; with its many branches bearing even more leaves to provide shade for a long way around it. Saria stepped gently into the edge of the shade, keeping the baby safe.  
"_What is thy business, Saria?_" the Deku Tree boomed. From the bark of the old tree, a face shifted and formed, and looked down upon her. He was a worn face, like that of an old man, who had seen many years and survived many winters; yet nothing showed of his old face withering. Saria marveled for a moment how beautiful—and terrible—she had forgotten the Great Forest Father could be. She was overwhelmed to be in this presence, but the words bubbled up from inside her, and kneeled in the shade of his leaves, presenting the sleeping baby.

"O Great Merciful Master, Deku Tree," said Saria, "I found a baby in the woods, near the northwest borders of our land. All that was there left was his mother, who was dead." Silence, even from the Deku Tree, meant something was being decided. From the depths of the great leaves, a numbers of birds swarmed and flocked, gripping gently the cloth in which the baby was swaddled. A number of branches gathered before the Deku Tree's face, and the baby was planted softly into its boughs. The Deku Tree stared longingly at the baby. There was a moment Saria swore that something like a thought forged itself in the Deku Tree's mind. Roots snaked up from the ground around Saria's boots, finding in them the locket. A bird took care of grabbing this as well, and adding it to the baby. The Deku Tree groaned heavily, and the baby and the locket were safely returned to Saria's arms.  
"_I sense a destiny in this child, Saria,_" the Deku Tree's voice thundered. "_Outside this forest, a war is being waged; a war that has shaped and twisted our beautiful land of Hyrule and the fate of many. You will raise the boy; teach him the way of the Kokiri and the sword passed down from the ancestors. His destiny is bound up with all of Hyrule. All of Hyrule will revere his name, Link._"

Saria bowed deeply and gratefully before the Deku Tree, backed out of the shade, still marveling at the old tree's beauty, and turned and left.

Author's Note: I had to revise this story FOUR times. My novels had only been revised about three times. That kind of tells how much work, heart, and effort I put into this story. A note about the Kokiri names: Unless you haven't noticed, but the Kokiri names are created using a combination of the eight notes: Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. They are prounced accordingly, excpet of course for Saria, whose name would be Sorea, but of course, translators changed it, which made it as it is now.


	2. Ten Years Later

Chapter 2

Ten years later…

"Don't let him out of your sight!"  
"There he is! Get him!"

Link kicked off a branch and soared through the air. He looked behind him, at a cluster of Kokiri boys in hot pursuit. _What did I do to deserve this?_ He wondered. Ahead of him, a Kokiri boy dropped from the canopy, ready to grab him. But Link, being taught by Saria, the best Tree-jumper of the Kokiri, evaded this by grabbing the branch before him, swung with his weight, and proceeded right past the boy. It was a little maneuver Link had made up, which was found to be quite useful. Link grabbed hold of a tree trunk, swung around, and went in the opposite direction after a close encounter with another number of boys.

In the ten years Link had lived among the Kokiri, the entire village raised him. He slept in a different bed every week, and made friends with many of the Kokiri. He learned many tales from Reso. He learned the sword-lore from Tire, and the Tree-jumping from Saria. He learned to weave baskets, gather what fruit and nuts that could be eaten, and the many things Kokiri have lived and loved and learned to do for ages. But these boys, Sore and his followers, like to point out differences in things rather accept things that are like to them. And thus, the weekly pursuit through the forest became as much part of Link's life as Tire's swordplay or Saria's Tree-Jumping.

Link was finally tackled, brought roughly to the ground after one of Sore's boys managed to strike Link in the face with a branch. Link, piled under the bodies of three boys fought his way to air; finding Sore, a gaunt and sneering boy with short thick brown hair.

"You just don't know when to learn, do you?" Sore sneered. He was a bully, and like all bullies gained friends through force rather than respect.

"Neither do you, it seems," said Link, pushing a boy aside. Sore held out his left hand, one of his wingmen presenting him with a Deku stick. Sore twirled it stylishly, before taking a stance. Sore sneered and began an attack.

Of course, Link had had enough of Sore's bullying and decided to do something about it for once instead of returning to Saria's house covered in bruises. Link stepped aside as Sore's Deku stick whistled through the air. Many of the boys gasped as this happened, as Link always stood his ground as Sore punished him for his differences. Link continued his evading, bending his body out of the way as Sore assaulted again and again. Link tumbled backwards as Sore attempted a horizontal slash, jumping to his feet in time to evade a lower slash. Standing so close together, Link head-butted Sore into a tree. The boys gasped as their leader staggered backwards, holding his head, dropping his weapon and holding his head in dizzying agony. In the time it took for Sore to regain his composure, Link was already vaulting off branches back toward the village.

Link hit the ground, tumbling and rolling and leaping to his feet as he exited the heavily wooded forests outside the village. He dashed through the village, vaulting off a well-placed barrel onto the balcony of a high tree house. Jumping over the railing, he swept aside the curtain across the doorway into the small one-room hut. Across from the front door, Saria sat humming delightfully to herself working on something meticulously. Link stood there admiring her from across the small house, until she finally acknowledged his presence.

"How was your bout with Sore?" she asked. In the past Link would show off his many welts and bruises from where Sore struck him, but in this time, there were none to present. Saria turned in her seat to find Link unmarked.  
"Not a single bruise," said Link, holding up his arms. "I fought back, Saria." Saria inspected Link carefully, giving off a warm and welcome smile.  
"Had enough then, have you?" she asked. Link nodded, having no need to say anymore. At the front of their house, Mido's footfalls were heard, and he poked his head through the door.  
"I don't know what it was you did to get him mad, Link, but Sore's calling you out," he said. "He's challenged you to a High-Bridge Showdown." Link and Saria glanced at one another, before heading to the door.

Around the foot of their tree house, were Sore and his cronies. Sore raised a fist at Link.  
"I challenge you to a Last-Man-Standing Fight!" he shouted, "Tomorrow at sun-down!" Link looked down at Sore. He knew Sore rather too well. This match would be rigged in some way to humiliate him. He knew he had to make counter-measures.  
"What are your wagers on the victor?" asked Link.  
"The loser's rations for the next three weeks of berries and nuts to the winner," said Sore. That was quite a gamble. Link looked at the very cross Sore.

"Give me an half an hour," said Link and he marched back into the house.  
"Three weeks without berries and nuts? That's a pretty big risk you're willing to take," said Mido. "Are you sure you wanna chance it, Link?" Link looked about the room, to Mido, then to Saria. He kept silent, deep in his own thoughts.

"It'll mean nonstop training for the next day with Tire," said Link. "But it's a risk I'm willing to take."  
"No, Link, I don't want this," said Saria sternly. "No Kokiri should live three weeks without food, it's not fair."  
"Saria," began Link, "You've always said the one rule to Tree-Jumping is _Always make a risk_. If I don't make this risk, what will become of us?" Link knew he had Saria at this point. Her face screwed up with an admirable fury that blazed behind her green eyes. She wasn't sure whether or not to hug him for his courage, or to swat him with a Deku stick for his stubbornness.  
"Oh, Link," Saria sighed exasperated, "You're as stubborn as-as-as a Skull-kid sometimes!" Link wrapped his arms around Saria's waist, embracing her in gratitude for her support. Saria pat Link's shoulders gently.

"Your half an hour's gone by, already!" Sore's voice drifted up into their hut. Link broke away from the hug, and turned back to head out onto the balcony. Down below, Sore looked very impatient, tapping his Deku stick against his shoulder.  
"I agree to your terms," said Link. "The loser's rations for the next three weeks of berries and nuts." Link jumped over the balcony's railing, falling twenty feet and landing before Sore. The two boys spit into their respective hands, and clasped firmly. In their grip, they glared at one another, knowing their spit mixed.

Tire looked up as footfalls landed at his door. He remained at his work-bench, drawing a sharp stone across the plane of wood and its shavings falling to the floor. He moved the stone along the wood's grain, shaving off unnecessary bits and roughness. He was a weapons-maker, one that clung to an old and unknown life among the peaceful and cheerful Kokiri. He didn't have to look up to know who it was at his door.

"Hello, Link," Tire said. He set the stone aside, picking up a piece of cloth-like material, and drawing it over the areas on the wood in which he just shaved. Link stood at the door, locking his bent fingers in one another, and bowing. He remained silent.  
"Well?" asked Tire, continuing to smooth out the piece of wood he was working on.  
"Sore has challenged me to a High-Bridge Showdown," said Link. "It begins tomorrow at sundown—"

"And you want to get in some more training," Tire finished. "I understand, Link. I heard everything Sore said. Well, I'm just about finished." Link's befuddlement didn't betray him as Tire held up his craft. It was a wooden sword, tooled and carved to the right likeness to fit Link. Tire held the sword out for Link to take. He took it by the handle, and swung it a few times.

"It's unusually light," said Link. It measured from the tip of his middle finger to the center of his chest, a right size for him.  
"But it's hard and sturdy to last you for a long time," said Tire. "Now, to training." Tire clapped a hand to Link's shoulder, shook him affectionately and went out a door on the opposite side of the hut.

Tire led Link to the enclosure that was the training grounds. It was a spacious area, a ring of trees surrounding the area and leaving an opening to enter and exit. There were few decorations about so to not have distractions, as some would seek Tire to learn a little discipline before a confrontation with a fellow Kokiri.

Link and Tire faced another, wooden swords in hand. Tire took his stance; planting both feet a little more than shoulder-width, and crouched, sword-hand held close to his chest. Link took his own stance; straightening his left leg before him and putting his weight into his right. His sword pointed towards the ground, his free hand up and out behind. Their breaths steadied, each measuring the other. Link was drilled in sword combat for a few years, having grasped its finer qualities a year before.

Tire took the initiative, thrusting toward Link to push him back. Link parried, pulling his sword towards his chest and pushing Tire's strike away. Tire took a step back as Link's sword just grazed his side. From previous spars, Link could never touch Tire, let alone get in close enough to touch him. Even though it was a glancing blow, it meant Link had learned much.

Link and Tire parried each other's attacks, matching each others' footwork in offense and defense.  
"You've come a long way," said Tire. "You still need to learn to keep your opponent off their center." Link parried a blow to his foot, swinging at Tire's side.  
"Your control is better than it was when you first started," Tire continued. "Remember to swing with your hips and bring the rest of your body with it." Tire's sword caught Link's in a vertical slice. Link pulled his sword away and thrust at Tire's torso. Tire had just enough time to block again, before Link barraged him with another swing. Tire blocked, but lost his balance as Link forced his sword aside. Link brought his blade to Tire's shoulder. Both panted, looking at one another, Tire smiling proudly in his defeat.

"Very good, Link," he said. "You have done well. I am proud. Your training is complete. This spar is over." Link withdrew, bowing with sword in hand. Both left the training ground, Tire's arm wrapped around Link's shoulders.  
"You did well. You're ready for tomorrow's duel, and I know you're going to win." Link's eyes widened and watered, as if overcome by a sudden grief at the loss of a loved pet.

"But, master Tire," said Link, "What if Sore does something that I don't expect? Couldn't you at least teach me some more advanced moves while I have the time?"

Tire looked down at Link with an expression of endearment.

"Well, I suppose I can teach you a few things," he said surrendering to Link's plea. "Very well. I will teach you advanced moves while there is still light." And so it was that Link and Tire returned to the arena and trained.

Link slipped through the hut quietly so to not wake Saria. He set his sword down beside his bed, crawled under the covers and let the exhaustion of the spars take over. Quickly and soon enough, Link fell into deep sleep.

Author's Note: I honestly didn't like this chapter for some reason. I can't pin down what I didn't like about it, but I just know that this chapter was a horrific ordeal. I liked how I started it, but near the end it feels so tacked on for some abhorrent reason. Probably just me getting old. But not to worry, it picks up in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Link stared over the valley. He was older, grown up, and stared out into an open plain that stretched for what seemed leagues. At his side, a bright and cheery blonde girl stared out with him, putting her hands around his arm and resting her head gently against his shoulder. How soft her touch was.  
__"I could stand here with you all day," she said. Her voice was sweet, like the bright sun showing on golden fields and setting the river ablaze with its light. Link looked at the girl, feeling something for her, but unsure what.  
__"It's getting late," Link said, "we should head back."  
__As he said it, the bright twilight-painted sky turned grey with the shadow of great billowing clouds, bringing an unsettling darkness upon the once great land. The golden fields went black, the blazing river dimmed to its cold truth, and a great wind rose up and bit at Link's back. He turned as he heard the screech, seeing a shadow descend with wings outstretched and catching the current. The massive black eagle swooped, snatching up the fair maiden in its talon and flying off over the blackened and grey fields. Link on instinct drew a gleaming sword, its blade white like fire and ice as one. It gleamed with the fire of a rekindling hope, and Link charged down the hillside after the eagle. He bellowed after her._

Link bellowed as he sat up, panting and gasping in the darkness. His eyes adapted, searching the darkness of the hut. Nothing. It was just a dream. Link felt his face, the reality of him aging still fresh in his mind.  
Was it…really all just a dream? Link rubbed his eyes and yawned. It felt far too real to be just a dream. But he sat there in the darkness of the house, unaware of others present.

"Good morning, sleepy-head."

Link recognized the voice immediately. Saria drew a curtain aside, letting light stream in through the window onto the floor. It wasn't enough light, but Link was blinded all the same.  
"Saria," said Link tiredly. "What time is it?"  
"Almost noon," she answered. Link rubbed at his eyes and the rolled the blankets off him. He got up, yawned, and took off to the Cascades to wake up.

The Cascades was a small waterfall, where Kokiri went to bathe in morning and evening; before and after bed. It was shared by all, though males and females shared it respectively so to give the other their privacy. The water was still cool from the morning, and Link scrubbed himself with a rough piece of bark from a nearby dead tree. After drying off and getting dressed, Link returned again to the village.

Now, Kokiri live freely in the forest. They came and go as they please in a free-form community doing as they wish and helping the village as they see fit. This particular day, Link was returning to his tree house, when Old Fare stopped him.

"Oh, Link," she called to him. "Link, dear! Could help me out?"  
Link skid to a halt, spraying dirt and grass into a mud-wrestling contest between two boys. He twisted his body and bound back towards Fare.  
"What is it, Fare?" he asked.  
"I'm supposed to gather mushrooms for the stew tonight, and my back isn't what it used to be," she explained. "Could you be a dear to gather some for me?" Link took the basket out of her hands acceptingly.  
"I like to pick the mushrooms in the south-west, near the entrance to the Sacred Meadow," she continued. "It shouldn't take an hour, dear."  
"I'll get them for you, Fare," said Link. "You sit down and have some of that tea Lado gave you, alright?"  
"Oh, bless you, you are a wonder," said Fare and went back inside.

The Sacred Meadow lay far south and west of the village, a clearing of trees and a small labyrinthine path into the ruins of the Old Forest Castle. Kokiri were forbidden by order of the Deku Tree to never go near that place, under any circumstances. It took Link not even an hour to reach the entrance to the Meadow by tree jumping. The sun passed its noontime mark and Link was well into his labors of gathering mushrooms.

Link was unaware he was being watched well until a twig snapped. Almost on instinct, Link dropped the near-full basket of mushroom and spun on one foot to face the threat. All was still.

"Hello?" Link called. Nothing answered.  
_The time is coming.  
_There was no voice. But Link heard it.  
"Who's there? Who are you?"  
_You already know that. You just don't know it.  
_"This isn't funny," said Link, keeping his gaze fixed on his surroundings as he replaced the mushrooms in the basket.  
_The time is coming._

Any presence Link felt in that place was gone now. He hurried to fill the basket and took off back towards the village to have the mushrooms prepared for the soup.  
"Oh Link, these are wonderful!" said Fare delightfully. "Thank you very much, my boy." And Link was off once more. The noon dragged into evening, and the sun began its descent. Time was drawing near to the duel.

Link laced up his boots carefully, his hands shaking as he tied them. Sounds of light footfalls came from the door, and he looked up at Saria.  
"Nervous?" she asked, observant of Link's shaking hands. Link nodded in response.  
"I guess so," he answered. Saria crossed into the small hut, taking a seat beside Link.  
"Well it is your first time," she said. Link shook his head.  
"No, I've been nervous lots of times."  
Saria laughed.  
"You know what I mean," she added when she managed to catch her breath. Link finished lacing up his boots and stood. Taking his wooden sword into hand, he looked to Saria and bowed his head. Saria had to admire the fire that burned in his eyes, the resolve he had to take on the village bully and prove he wouldn't be pushed around.

The High-Bridge was a long bridge that linked the tree-huts facing parallel to either side of the village. At the northern side of the bridge, Link stood with sword in hand. Across the thirty-foot bridge stood Sore, surrounded by his boys. They took five steps respectively onto the bridge. Leaping onto the center was Mido, looking from one end to the other.  
"This is a contest between Link and Sore," Mido began. "The rules are the first contestant to push their opponent off the bridge wins. Other forms of victory count if the opponent surrenders, or is knocked off the bridge. Do both parties understand these rules?" Link and Sore nodded respectively. Both took their stances. Mido called for the contest to begin.

Link's speed was unmatched, save for Saria, in tree-jumping, and on the ground he was no slouch. He and Sore met almost mid-point on the bridge, Sore guarding against Link's sudden initiative. Both traded parries in the fight, Sore gaining ground swiftly. He pushed Link back, a wild tenacity in his eyes. Link's defense shifted, Sore showing a sudden change in tactic that Link used to his advantage. Link guarded against a vertical strike, spinning and bringing himself about to strike, the tip of his wooden sword catching Sore's tunic in the strike. Taken aback, Sore realized he lost the momentum, and was soon on the retreat.

Link felt strange. It was like he had done that spin before, but he didn't. As if it just came like a suppressed memory resurfacing. Link continued the forward assault, Sore's weapon sundering and flying into the crowd below. A gasp of excitement sounded, and Link lifted Sore off the bridge with a swing. Link was sure to win this.

Author's Commentary: I should have uploaded this earlier. I'm fairly happy with the way this chapter turned out, especially with the dream at the beginning. I think it's enough foreshadowing for people to see what can happen, at the same time leave enough of it for the reader to guess. I also kind of enjoyed writing Link and the mysterious voice conversation, giving enough obscurity to make readers wonder about it. My favorite line of all was Link saying he's been nervous lots of times, as that little exchange between him and Saria is an homage to the awesome movie Airplane. And if you wonder why I ended the chapter in the middle of the fight, it was kind of because I didn't want to make the chapter too long.


End file.
